THE. NE.W YORKER WIves can ào theIr wash- ing conveniently, without having to beat it against the stones. At this point I wonàer whether you're going to be disappoint- 1 " ea- " N d ' I I " 0, you . on t. l o. "We both do. But pass carelessly on to the Co\\- sheà-" "\Vhere great mink cows with huge haunches and eyes so soft anà faun- like-" "Shift in the straw, breathing heavily, mum- bling among themselves." "And the calves are alone, lying àown in their stalls or tottering about, except for one" which sucks from its mother great gulps of sweet hot milk. " "Enough of the cows." " N L ' " o. et s stay. "Enough. Fantastic de- lights are in store for us. We iàly inspect the jew- elry maàe b} gypsies in a lay-b} off the motorway. You, being generous and rich, àeciàe to buy tue some trifle. ..l\. ring, I h . k " t In.. "I want to buy you a chain to go round your neck. " "Of course you do, but save that as a more suitable encumbrance for your son. A ring would be better." "All right. i\ ring. But they'll all fall off you." "They're embosseà with the heads of superannuateà astronauts, so I decline the offer. We hurry now-" ""'{XT 1 " V\anaer. "Hurry to the balloons You make a great fuss, of course, ahout the exact balloon, which hàs to be extricated from an enormous bunch anà is natu- rally in the miààle. At long last-" "You have waited with infinite pa- tience " "The green balloon is attached to yaràs anà J aràs and yards of StI ing and bobs about miles over your head whilf" you clutch the end of the string greed- . 1 " IY- "Greedily? " "In caSe the balloon should escape. You then have an inslne desire, balloon dnd all, to vIsit the \\Titch's Castle-" "I àon't! I àon't! I'm tel rified of the \Vitch's Castle!" "Exactly, that's why you want to see it. You're obsesseà, passionately, \, l I .. -' i I h 1* t, I-- _____ . .. I-- r - , ----...- /, ' ( \ \\ \" . t ' , H '" 't i _ \ -, -- \ 'i;iØ> _ '\,)t . ... \ \, '.\: \' :=; l- 41 t1l . . ." '\ \ ..... , I J I j À t 'J' _pt}. .!}.v un t.' It it \ . I'. I H J ; }t,lp. j,.. MA. R'AGt t CUNS f: t lOR. tit I , Ph- .,-.. $OS. .. ll; > It: fið .. ...,.... ' rr.m [(ffrj g it Dr I In r II W , v't. i \ ... ,. '------ , .'. .....c- ^ ((She does not no'w share) nor has she ever shared) my sense of humor.)) . by the idea of having slimy rags slapped in our tlce while travelling at one milt" an hour in the pitch dark." He sigheà àeeply, throwing the match enà in the direction of the ashtray. "Natu- rally, I humor you." "You're telling too much of the story .LL\.nd you're wrong. \Ve watch the children falling about on the huge 1 . " trampo Ine- "\V lter bed." "Nonsense, they'd punctu re a wa te 1 bed. The} jump .lnà fly .:lnd swim in thc waves-" "You can't have waves on a tram- 1 . " po Inc. "Anà leap on the trampoline They look so pretty with their hair flying anà knickers flashing, I don't want to leave them. But you have other plans. You want to visit the \Vitch's Castle! " He took a breath, helà up his hanà to dem'lnd silence, but I went on pel1- mell. "It's such a perform(;u1ce, I h.:lve to haul àown the balloon and anchor it to }our shoe with absolutel} no faith that you've got the weight to keep it there. And the trucks clatter away into the tunnel, with banshees wailing in . àreaàful ruins and flashing lights on mountaintops anà the graves àeliver- ing up their deaà anà Gi)tterdäm- Inerung-" "And the slimy rag SLlpS you in the face and vou screom-" "Don't." I could haràly speak for laughter and terrOl. "They'll tlunk there's somcthing wrong." "And cower in my shoulder and scream and clutch me. That part of it . 1 " ]S very peasant. There WaS silence, but I wanted to get on with it, to know what happened next. "Go on," I urged gently. "\Vell." He frowned àown his nose, steepling the white pointed fingers ""\Vhat do we do next? Shoot the Chi- ... H 1 "I" nese r oop a r "You shoot." "But I want to win." " I . b want you to WIn ecause you so I . " muc 1 want to WIn "However. I àon't." "Then I kiss you in front of every- bd . 1 .,, " o Y In oraer to sa} It aoesn t màtter "\Vhich àoesn't help." "Then what do I do?" "You kiss me in fron t of everybody,